Close Yellen adviser Lipton to step down

(Reuters) -David Lipton, one of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s closest advisers who has helped shape international economic policy, will step down on Wednesday, the department said.

The former International Monetary Fund official has served as international affairs counselor to Yellen for the past two years after he came out of retirement.

“He will be irreplaceable for the department, but I feel incredibly fortunate to have had his counsel,” Yellen said in statement.

“During that time, David has helped shape our international agenda across a wide set of challenges – from the recovery from the pandemic to our response to Russia’s war against Ukraine.”

Lipton also helped secure a landmark agreement on a global minimim tax and advancing the G7 price cap on Russian oil, the treasure department said.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Nick Macfie and Andrew Heavens)